


The mad thing we call love

by Kizuka_Nakahara



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Don't blame me lol, F/M, First Kiss, For a one chapter, Future, Nightmares, Rare Pairings, Stars, Witcher AU (for one chapter), rarepairsweek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-28
Updated: 2019-03-19
Packaged: 2019-10-17 19:15:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17566373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kizuka_Nakahara/pseuds/Kizuka_Nakahara
Summary: One of my OTPs. The work is a part of Rare Pairs Week.I also participated in tumblr, making moodboards on my blog, @ dbhisamood-board





	1. First Kiss

Leaving Jericho still seemed like some kind of escape. And escaping felt more normal than 'just going out'. Her whole life was full of fighting, living as a runaway, constantly losing control. She never expected herself to come up with a hobby like this. Also, befriending humans was a bizarre experience, but she would get used to that.

She took her bag and hauled off through corridors of New Jericho's headquarter. Luck provided her with a lack of other androids around; on that hour, everyone was busy.

When she left, she walked to the bus station and sighed. She hoped it wouldn't be late. And just like she wished, it wasn't.

People kept talking and laughing, but she didn't care about that at all anymore. She stopped doing that a while ago. Let them talk, ignore them, go on. It was her little motto to survive in the crowds.

When the bus arrived, she still had to check twice if she was walking to the right building. Just like in Jericho, no one was hanging a big sign saying 'go this way'. Maybe it was for the best?

This time, the little girl from the playroom was absent. Well, not that she had enough courage to ask about that.

She just followed the music and let herself forget about everything else.  
He was there already, stretching and exercising. Unlike her, he needed to make sure he was in a good condition unless you wanted to hear him grumble about his back pain all day.

This place was somehow magical, taking them away from the outside world they belonged to. Just a man, a woman, and a blast of crappy music from the old good times she obviously couldn't remember.

When the song ended, the host of the club was standing at the doors.

"I see you are having fun right here. You didn't even say hello, North." The woman laughed, seeing as her guest looked away with slight embarrassment.

"Hello, Tatiana."

North looked to the side and caught Gavin while he was changing the tape in the old recorder. His taste was unique, but hers was too poor to give her permission to judge.

She sat down on the floor for a moment and let herself feel the vibe. When Markus was painting, she couldn't understand what was so interesting about some paints. Also, it was still so easy to get a panic attack from seeing him covered in blue from heads to toes. But music was totally different. She could describe music as a wonderful entanglement of sounds and emotions. The rage, the grief, the euphoria - everything packed in small tape a few times older than she was.

_Run away, away with me_  
_Lost souls in reverie_  
_Running wild then running free_  
_Two kids, you and me_

She looked up and saw that Gavin standing in front of her.

"How about a dance? Are you up for that song?"

He was a dancer, but he could also do some wiggly moves just to make her laugh. North smiled and let him take her hand and pull her up.

It was a weird friendship. When they had met for the first time, they were on the different sides of the barricade. Revolutionist and a police detective. Quite a unique combination, wasn't it?

In the dusk of old blinking strip lights, they held hands and laughed, trying to synch with the rhythm.

She could hear him sing and she tried to sing too. Not that she was really in the mood, he just had a terrible voice.

They danced a little while longer, for a song or two more, jumping and pivoting and laughing.

Sometimes, Reed was teaching her how to dance like a pro, but this day wasn't about that.

When they were leaving it was raining. The sky above Detroit turned grey and sometimes it was lit by a flash of large lightning. North had a moment where she wanted to stay and watch that, but the very small risk of getting hit by the lightning stopped her.

She was already heading to the bus station, zipping her bag, when she heard a whistle.

Gavin drove closer and smiled at her.

"Look, I've got some time. I can drop you at your place if you wanna. You seem too happy to enjoy a depressing shower or some pleasant lightning. Come on."

"I was about to decline, but looking at your car... I wanna get a ride on this dinosaur."

He stomped on the accelerator and pretended that he was going to drive off, letting the car roar.

"Look, that dino is so happy to see me."

"Shut up," he said, sulking like a child.

They fell silent for some time, with Gavin's sight fixed on the road and North trying to turn on the radio. Another song played and North thought that it was corrupted and kept playing all over again, but then she realised that it wasn't. It was just specific. She leaned to the side and closed her eyes, listening to the song and Gavin's humming.

_i'll keep you safe in these arms of mine hold on to me pretty baby you will see I can be all you need_

Somehow, she fell asleep in there, leaving Reed alone with his thoughts and no certainty on where to go. So he kept making circles around the android neighbourhood, waiting for North to wake up.

Finally, she did when a cat run into the street and Gavin had to brake hard.

"Da hell!"

"A cat. Sorry. You were asleep and I didn't have enough time to warn you."

She yawned. "It's nothing. You should have woken me up sooner, Gav."

He drove to the side and shrugged. "Is it far from here?"

North looked around and shook her head. "Not at all. I live across the street."

"Was the dinosaur trip enjoyable?" he asked sarcastically.

"Course it was," she whispered, leaning in his direction. "We should do that again one day."

Gavin snorted, looking in her eyes. Something made him shiver and close his eyes for a moment.

He felt a faint kiss on his lips. 

Well, he grabbed North's hand and didn't let her go till he reciprocated. It's not like hadn’t been hoping for that. He certainly had.

And then, she jumped up and ran away from the car. Not for long, though. She forgot her bag.

"Say it."

"What?"

"Say it if you wanna forget. If you want nothing else."

In the dark, he could barely see if she was blushing, but he reckoned she did.

"I wanna remember. Goodnight, Gavin."


	2. Reversed roles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I can only point out that it's about reversing roles, not species.

"I can't help you," he said, looking in any other direction. "Anyway, it's my knock-off time. Ask somebody else." She didn't leave him alone, so he hid his face in his hands, whispering, "Please."

North sighed and slowly walked away, still glancing at the man. She truly tried everything to talk with the workers of that club, but at this hour the place was quite empty.

It's not like she had to be totally nice and felt too afraid to cross the boundaries to get what she needed. The problem was that she shouldn't. With android laws being fragile and Fowler glaring at all her doings, well, her paths to walk on were made of damn eggshells. Artificial breathing seemed risky, not to mention getting in a club fight.

The case she worked on impatiently required new traces and definitely a statement from an eyewitness. They weren't known by anything more than a stage name 'Jamie' and this turned out to be the name of every damn stripper in the Paradiso club.

Also, she didn't order anything and the guard kept walking after her. Showing the badge was an option, but since the club was anti-android, it seemed worse than suicide.

Eventually, she came to the bar and ordered a shot of tequila. She glanced at the cheap neon with the name of the club.

The man she just talked to came there too and sat down next to her. She had more time to look at him. A kind of one-off aura surrounded him, making North only more curious. She couldn't scan his face at this angle, but she didn't want to know everything with a snap of her fingers.

He had a jacket thrown over himself, with nothing under it. His sneakers were left untied and there was a bracelet on his ankle. To the untrained eye, it would look just like a fancy piece of jewellery, but North wasn't activated yesterday and by one quick scan she could say that this was a tag. Was he being held here?

Somewhere in her mind, she heard a sound, like something got unlocked. After noticing a few scars on his skin, along with the obvious one on his nose, North got caught in the act.

"Don't make this harder than it already is, dipshit," he growled faintly and looked tiredly at the shelf stacked with colourful bottles of alcohol. "Let me live."

North sighed and waited as the bartender gave her the drink. She looked at the glass, then at the guy, then again at the glass as she took it and placed in front of him.

He just shot her a glare and placed it back on its place. "What, now you are too young to drink or what? Go home."

There was something in his eyes, he gave her the impression like he was about to jump.

North hummed and dipped her fingers in the glass. She spread it on her fingerprints and sighed.

The tequila contained a solid dose of Rohypnol. No wonder why the guy didn't want to drink it.

Hell, North felt tired. And angry. The whole visit here was so useless and if she was a pathetic human woman she would have probably drink it without any hesitation.

She raised her glass and tossed it behind the counter. "I’ve had enough of that shit right now."

"You can always leave. With or without help." The bartender showed up in front of her.

"Yeah, got that after you spiked my tequila." She stood up and looked him straight in the eye.

The man with the scar wanted to say something, but North was quicker. She pushed the bartender with ease and watched as he hit the shelf. One of the bottles fell and broke into pieces on his head.

"Listen, if anyone gonna asked you, he started that."

"The hell are you about, huh? You wanted to speak to someone, now you cause fights."

"I'm looking for some girl, but for some reason everyone here is Jamie. You're probably one too."

He slowly nodded, crossing his arms. Somehow, he missed the moment when the guard came to them. Luckily, he didn't need to worry about it, because a moment later he fell on the floor too.

"Also, I'm a detective."

"Guessed that. What about that girl?"

North showed him the fragment of camera footage. He probably would be totally okay with that, if the video wasn't playing on her hand.

"Shit. Detective AND a phckin android. Yeah. What about that girl, again?"

"She might know the man that killed her client from there."

He led her to one of the doors around and knocked lightly. A slightly nervous girl showed up, asking what was going on.

"Listen, this is some detective. She’s beaten the shit of these dipshits and she needs to talk to you about stuff. Let's get over with it before cops get here."

North laughed.

"What?"

"I am a cop. And this guy is right; the others are on their way."

She left the room with the statement she wanted. That same guy was there again.

"I just wanted to say that you have balls of steel."

"You do too. Thought you would freak out when I tossed that bartender." She stretched a hand in his direction. "North."

He grabbed her hand with his own and shook it. "Jamie. Just kidding, I'm Gavin."

They waited together for the police to come. Gavin sat on the counter, hugging one of his knees. They were talked about many things. How North noticed the Rohypnol, how one of her predecessors licked the evidence rather than touching it with fingers only. Why Gavin ended like that and how that tag bracelet felt annoying and electrocuted him when he tried to escape.

North obviously had to show off and tore it off his ankle. When they went together outside and listened to sirens, the sun peeked at them from the clouds.

"Look, isn't that too cliche for us?"

She didn't get an answer.

"That's what I call even more cliche!" she yelled, knowing well that Gavin was probably far away.


	3. Stars

"Hey, I know you had a surprise for me, but I'll be late. Kelsie needs more attention than I expected and I want her to sleep right now. It's hella past her bedtime."

North flinched when she heard a loud clunk.

"Sorry, I dropped the phone."

"No problem," she sighed and hummed. "Well, if she really can't sleep, you can take her too."

Gavin laughed and got silent for a moment. "Wait. You're serious."

She explained that it's alright to bring Kelsie. Gavin thought about it a bit and finally, he sat on his daughter's bed.

"Do you wanna go out to meet auntie North?"

"Yes!" She immediately jumped at him and stole the phone, yelling and telling the Traci how she liked her and was happy to see her.

Gavin felt happy because this time he didn't have any problems with Kelsie. Surprisingly, when she wanted to do something, she would miraculously recall all the forgotten abilities, like tying shoes or finding her coat.

Unfortunately, she started sulking as soon as he didn't let her sit in the front seat of the car.

He wondered what kind of surprise would North have for them at so late hour, but he didn’t call to ask, he just slowly drove to New Jericho.

His favourite radio station played one of his favourite songs, so he just let Kelsie try to sing.

In a quarter or so, they were at the place. North demanded that she’ll drive this time. Since Gavin had taught her how to drive, she always wanted to seize every occasion to get behind the wheel.

Reed was glad it was so late. No one would catch them on the road. North knew how to drive, but she wasn’t planning to get a driving license. To be honest, no one in New Jericho would find it necessary to get, since everything was automatic these days.

Kelsie kept asking what were they going to do, but North just winked at her a few times and kept calling it a surprise.

They went on a long tour around Detroit and finally ended in Ferndale. Gavin was switching channels on the radio and looking at North questioningly.

Finally, they stopped in the abandoned part of the harbour. Reed guessed that Jericho was nearby, but he also doubted that they would go there.

“We're here.” She clicked one of the buttons and the roof window opened slowly.

“Daddy! Daddy! Look!”

He looked where the girl pointed and gasped. They were in the dark part of the city, so they could see hundreds of stars above them.

Constellation after constellation, dancing on the night sky and shining.

Kelsie took off her boots and stood on her seat to have a better view. Her happy squeals seemed like they would never end.

North, being busy looking up, didn't notice as Gavin grabbed her hand. The touch felt surprising, but she liked that.

“Can you tell me about these?” Kelsie asked.

Gavin and North looked at each other, not being sure who should speak. Eventually, Reed leaned and grabbed Kelsie's hand.

“There, you see that funny shape? It's The Big Dipper.”

“Like in Gravity Falls!”

The Traci looked at him, so he whispered that he would explain that to her later.

“When I was a kiddo, every triangle I could see on the sky was The Constellation of Pizza.” He said, making both of girls laugh. “Maybe you can spot it?”

Kelsie started counting pizzas on the sky, sometimes even mentioning the ingredients of these. North looked at her after she counted to the fiftieth pizza slice. The girl fell asleep.

“I think she would never stop. There are hundreds of possible triangles,” North whispered.

“Yeah, smart-ass.” Gavin rolled his eyes. “That truly worked and I guess it’s the best surprise I could ever think of.”

North smiled widely and covered her mouth to stop her laughter.

“Also it was a cool trip, North. Thanks.”

They went outside for a moment and sat together on the bonnet. Gavin again started talking about astronomy, pointing at the constellations at telling the stories about them.  
It’s not like North didn’t know that or couldn’t google it. She just liked to listen to her boyfriend.

“Boyfriend,” she murmured, trying to understand the feeling that came up with that word.

“What?”

“I’m getting used to that. Slowly but still.”

He smiled lightly and put a hand on her cheek. There was something intimate in that gesture, in the warmth of his palm and cold of North’s uncovered plastic skin.

Reed couldn’t see the soft blueish blush on the covered part of her face. He just leaned and kissed her softly. They remained in place for a few minutes, until Gavin shivered from the cold. North let go of his lips and hugged him.

All the stuff they did was so new to her. She knew so much about the things people liked to do in the Eden Club, but it eventually occurred to her that real life, real feelings are different and mysterious.

Gavin hopped in the car, so she followed him. They went back and ended in front of Reed's block of flats. He tapped the steering wheel when he realized something.

"I forgot that I should have taken you back to Jericho," he murmured, yawning.

"Yeah, I didn't remember that either."

"Maybe you can stay with us tonight?" he asked quietly and glanced at Kelsie.

North opened and closed her mouth. In her mind, she could provide some ideas about what would happen upstairs.

"I have a quite comfy sofa." He hummed. "But I'm not forcing you, I can take you home."

"N-no, it's alright." She hugged herself. "I can stay."

He nodded. "Can you take Kelsie?"

They went together, trying to keep the girl asleep. Luckily, they succeeded.

When Kelsie was already in her bed, Gavin prepared the sofa for North. The Traci sat on a chair and waited, fidgeting. Eventually, Reed brought fresh duvet for her and kissed her goodnight.

Why none of North's preconstructions came to be true? She had no idea.


	4. Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This part of story is connected with my work 101 ways how to say 'I love you', chapter 17. It's not necessary to read the said chapter.

“Mhm, mhm, I'm listening, honey. What is this?” Gavin murmured as someone shook him. 

“A nightmare.” 

Gavin opened his eyes as he realised that the voice of the person who woke him up didn't belong to his daughter. It took him a few solid yawns to recall that North stayed for the night and that she was sitting on the side of his bed at the moment.

“Do you need a hug?” he asked, still sleepy and unsure.

“Y-yeah.” She came a bit closer and let Reed embrace her.

He placed his chin on her shoulder and hummed a melody. After a minute or two, North realised it was a lullaby.

“I thought you were Kelsie. She has nightmares sometimes,” he spoke quietly.

“So it's childish, then?”

“Not at all. I used to have sick dreams for a really long time. Who knows, maybe I'm going to have one soon. The world is too scary to have sweet ones every night.”

He covered their legs and sighed. It was three in the morning. Fortunately, he didn't have to get up to work.

“I'm sorry I woke you up.”

“Nah, it doesn't matter. Don't worry about that, North.” He smiled. “Do you wanna talk about that dream?”

She didn’t answer.

“Alright. Do you have them often or is it just some rare cases?”

“Well, I have them sometimes. Last time was a few days ago.”

He waited again and asked if she coped with it herself. North denied it and sighed.

Gavin couldn’t stop his curiosity after all. He once asked if she had ever any electric sheep in her dreams. Having an android girlfriend provided him with an opportunity to get answers on so many dumb questions he wouldn’t ask anyone else. Still, in many cases, it was a great unknown to him.

The concept of androids having nightmares was already a good idea for a damn sci-fi. What would help? He had no idea.

“So who helped you the last time, if I can know?”

“A friend. We met when I had problems with Markus. I guess he was one of the first humans I actually trusted. I hope you won’t be jealous.”

Gavin snorted. “I might be an asshole, but I’m not a whiny teen. You trust me, I trust you. What’s his name?”

“Chris Miller.”

“Wait, like the one with the nice wife and that lil kiddo?” When she nodded, he smiled. “I worked with him, back in the police. He’s a great guy.”

“Everyone’s dad,” North added quietly.

Gavin agreed and told her about a few situations where he and Chris worked together. For example, the ones where he literally hugged some kids because they were crying.

“It’s just,” she started later, “it’s just the memory of them.”

“What kind of them?” Gavin let her go when she flinched.

“Uh, forget about that.”

He turned on the small lamp and glanced at her. North hid her face in her hands and visibly curled up.

“Hey, talk to me. Please. What’s going on?”

She shook her head and moved away when he tried to touch her. Gavin was puzzled. He thought that he knew North, and yet, she still kept something hidden from him.

She stood up and hugged herself.

“I just can’t forget about them; their happy and hopeful smiles, their will to survive. And now they’re dead.” And in that moment, she was sobbing.

“North. You can tell me about it or stop right here. Or you can leave. The room, the house. You can borrow my car if you wanna go back to New Jericho. But if you are able to, please, tell me.”

“It’s me,” she whispered. “It’s all about me. I can’t,” she took a deep breath and continued, “I can’t draw the line. It’s still connected to what was back then. I remember their plans and faces and so much more.”

He stopped and gasped. Still so different, huh? The feelings he couldn’t understand.

“I’m feeling like I should forget, close that chapter, but I also can’t. It hurts.”

“I don’t have a clue how to help with it. Chris could think of something?” he asked shyly.

“Yeah.” She’s confident, but with her curled body language, it sounded fake.

“You pretended that his doings helped?” he asked again, coming a bit closer.

She looked at him, curling her hands into fists and eventually nodding her head.

“Then it’s… dumb. I remember doing that when I was a kid and my mom tried to help me with my shit. She stopped caring when I convinced her that I’d be alright pretty quickly.”

North closed her eyes and walked away.

“If it’s boiling in you, maybe you should let it free?”

“N-no.” She touched the window and gripped the curtain. 

“Can’t you just scream? Look, it sounds idiotic but it might help.” He smiled softly. “Do you think that it would help?”

“Yes,” she murmured after a few minutes and looked at him. 

He came closer and grabbed her hands softly.

“It’s just so horrible. I can’t control it. I’m scared.”

“I know. But I’m here and you can do whatever you want to. Anything that would help you. I hope it’ll help.”

There’s no one hundred percent certainty, North knew that. People are different, her mind is rather… artificial. But she had something no one could ever steal from her. The trust.

They went on the balcony and screamed together. The cold breeze made them shiver and somehow soothed their hearts.

She hugged Gavin afterwards and cried. The vulnerability after that confession overwhelmed her. It wasn’t nakedness; being naked felt like nothing in comparison to that. She felt like she opened her heart, literally pulled her thirium pump out of her chest for a moment.

One glance at the clock. Nearly a whole hour passed. She felt rested, but Gavin didn’t look like that, obviously. 

“You should sleep. You can tell me as long as you want that you don't work for DPD anymore, but it’s still important to rest.” She attempted to sound serious, but it was still a miserable whimper. 

“I don't want to leave you when you are hurt. Damn it, it would be hella mean.”

“You won’t leave. I’ll stay here,” she murmured and sat on the bed. “I just won’t sleep.”

He agreed to those conditions and fell asleep soon after that. North was perturbed, but she found strength in herself to stay.

Gavin was cute. His snores were not.


	5. Future

“How do I look?” North asked quietly, not exactly believing how had she ended up in that situation. “I'm not used to this… type of clothing.”

“I think you look good. It really suits you.” Thomas’ voice still sounded a bit monotone, but he meant well.

She turned to Carl since it was his turn to form an opinion. The elder man couldn't say a single word, some kind of shock dumbfounded him. Both of the androids glanced at him with worry, but he eventually spoke.

“My dear, you don't look just good in it; you look wonderful.”

North had put on that specific type of dress for the first time in her not so long life.

She breathed deeply and turned to the mirror. Wedding dress. It already sounded unique.

They had been talking about the future. Carl obviously had to mention how his death was inching closer and closer, but it just seemed to be his quirk.

Somehow, they ended up on the topic of North's relationship with Gavin. She was still surprised how Carl never judged her after she had broken up with Markus and found someone else. To be honest, he was even encouraging her to be happy with her life choices.

Said relationship had recently become more established. Carl was the first person to know about their engagement.

“You reminded me of my wife, that's the cat that got my tongue,” he laughed.

A few minutes earlier Carl asked Thomas, his caretaker, to bring the dress. North wasn't expecting the proposition of trying it on.

“I can hear it in your voice that you are a bit scared of all of this. I understand that.”

“It's just… I mean, I love him, but it's gonna be so much. I'm nearly sure that we're the first android and human couple to get married.”

Thomas just smiled faintly, as Carl started his story about his wife and their wonderful life.

Both the caretaker and the Traci liked to listen about those old times; the stories of life in the past. It all sounded like a fairy tale.

When story time ended, Carl asked how the wedding preparations were going.

North admitted immediately that it was just a word in the air, that they didn't have anything and, going by Gavin's lack of employment, it would take a while to prepare anything.

She said that she was even afraid to count how long would it take.

“Let's say that I can give you a proverbial penny for a good start.” Carl smiled lightly and reached out to grab North's hand.

When she reciprocated the action, he squeezed her hand.

“I doubt that Markus will marry anyone soon, let alone Leo. You are like a daughter to me, so I want to give you this dress, dear. And don't even dare to argue with me, you should respect your elders.”

North looked at her reflection in the mirror and fidgeted nervously. Conflicting orders, huh. She never expected she would experience that sort of feelings in this situation.

She didn't believe in human customs, so she showed Gavin the dress as soon as she came home. He just told her that she looked amazing and then kissed her passionately.

It wasn't like Gavin had no money, he just didn't like to talk about it. Also, he borrowed some from Tatiana.

Well, Kelsie also wanted to help. When one day Gavin jokingly took some colourful paper to discuss with North the look of the hypothetical wedding invitations, the little one immediately grew suspicious and started asking questions.

Together, they managed to make one special invitation for everyone. It had glitter and dinosaur stickers.

Kelsie kept doing similar works every time she could sit and get some glitter. North was still surprised how quickly the girl warmed up to the idea of the wedding. Maybe she was too little to understand?

Or maybe she wasn’t. The Traci had to think about it again after one of these “invitations” was given to Josh. As her teacher, he obviously wanted to check what was up and what had made the girl prepare such kind of card.

The rumours somehow got around and everyone in New Jericho was interested. Even unsure Ralph asked if he could prepare flowers for the wedding.

For the wedding that wasn’t in their plans for the current year.

“I’m glad Tina doesn’t know about all that mess,” Gavin mentioned a bit later.

“Who’s Tina?” North asked curiously.

“She was my coworker. A good one. Treated me like I was some shy kiddo that couldn’t afford social behaviour. If she heard about our wedding plans, she would already be sitting down with Kelsie and writing the vows.”

“That fast?”

“No, that’s just the first thing from the list that’s as long as a six-pack of toilet paper rolls.”

North laughed and they talked for a little bit more. The aforementioned woman eventually found out and Gavin turned out to be right. She was the first to plan everything.

Did she have to mention that they had to plan it after all? With so many people involved, somehow impatiently waiting for that one message, to help with it, it was inevitable.

It was a memorable day, indeed. Androids from Jericho, half of the Detroit precinct, even some people from outside of Detroit attended.

They were just happy that the media didn’t find out about the whole thing.

Kelsie had flowers and a bright dress. She was happier than ever before, running around greeting the guests and giving them nicknames.

North had fought Tina so their vows were written without her help.

For once, Gavin felt happy at a party. Didn’t feel in the mood to get in a fight with anyone and he could even afford some small talk. Some of the guests couldn’t believe it was him. That someone would change so much.

Did Gavin or North care about it at all? Doubtful.

Hand in hand, they ran away from their own party and watched as the sun showed up on the horizon.

The dawn, that sweet first dawn of their life that they would spend together.

“It sounds funny.”

“What sounds funny?”

“My name. It’s not a nickname anymore. It’s not… incomplete.”

Gavin hummed and brought her closer.

“Maybe that’s how it should sound?” he asked and kissed her hair. “Don’t you think so, North Reed?”


	6. Crossover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's actually Witcher AU, but let's count it as crossover.

It was a warm, cloudless night on the village’s crossroads, somewhere in Lyria. The wind whistled and made the fragile trees quiver like freezing silhouettes in the void. Most of the people were in sleeping in their homes or sitting in the inn, drinking and eating. 

The man left the inn with a slight smile and leaned on the post stand, where people living there left their messages. He coughed and read all of them, including the ones barely readable. He eventually tore off the last one and hiding it in his pocket.

He blinked a few times and stretched. Another night, another job to do. Wasn’t that a bit dull and repetitive? Well, at least he didn't have to deal with kings or sorcerers, like some people alike him did. 

The quiet sound of sprigs breaking was immediately heard. His unique senses focused and easily found the source of noises. 

A woman was trying to escape the building by climbing down the nearest tree. Luckily, she didn’t hit the ground hard, landing safely.

The man grinned and came closer. Better this than nothing. In such boring places like this, it wasn't easy to find entertainment. 

“Oh, lonely girl on the run. Need a hand?” 

When she got up, she just sighed and slapped him in the face. He took a second glance at the building and realised she had run away from a brothel. He felt relieved he didn’t joke about her parents or something. That would have been terrible.

“Are you done now?” she snarled and crossed her arms.

“Well, I wanted to be helpful but I turned out to be just annoying.”

“Wow, the first appearance of your hypothetical wiseness. Go away.”

He hid his hands in his pockets and walked away. She followed him, expression quite surly, since he was heading to the main road just as she was.

Suddenly, a monster of some kind roared in challenge and appeared in front of them. The woman squealed and the man only took a few steps back.

“You should go. I’ll deal with this shit.”

She grabbed a piece of his shirt. “You can’t! It’s not some brawler from the inn! We need-” she stopped with a gasp.

His face decorated with scars and those shiny eyes couldn’t be mistaken for any other.

“Good luck,” she whispered, which was quite an unfamiliar reaction to the man.

He was a unique misfit with strong senses and a collection of scars that could tell many stories. A witcher.

In the light of day, you wouldn't mistake him with anyone else. Especially with two swords on his back and most likely a head of some monster hanging from the saddle. 

He grinned when the Nightwraith roared at him again. In a quick movement, he drew his sword and stood steady with it in hands.

The wraith disappeared, so he quickly took the chance to cover the sword with the proper oil.

“Come on, I don’t have the whole night, princess.”

He hauled off and hit the wraith as it reappeared. It vanished again, so the man pivoted and moved to the middle of the road. It was a large place with many corners where the monster could hide for a moment or two. 

The monster again roared just as piercingly, appearing in front of him, but it was followed by a loud clunk.

The woman from before had tried tossing a brick at it, but that action wouldn’t do anything but catch Nightwraith’s attention.

“It won’t feel that!” he snarled and drew a sign to trap it. “Thanks anyway!”

Yrden trapped the monster for a bit in a large ring, so the man could come closer and slash at it repeatedly. The wraith did hurt him in retaliation, though. 

A strong one, thought the man. 

The sign might have helped, but didn't magically stop the monster for longer than a minute or two. The man whirled and sliced at it from different sides and angles as quickly as possible to finally kill it and let it disappear forever. 

Eventually, he crouched and gathered the remains of the wraith.

“What the hell was that?” he heard a question. The woman didn’t come closer.

“Nightwraith. Quite strong for such a little shit. Good that I found it so fast.”

“Why?”

“Someone hung a message that he wants it killed. Now I can get my money without wandering around the whole night.” The witcher smiled and rubbed his hands happily. 

He stood up and turned around. The woman was closer, looking at the place where the wraith once hovered.

“What’s your name?” he asked when she still didn’t leave.

“I am North,” she answered shyly.

“No, don’t be that awkward. You tossed a brick at a wraith. Or is it me that’s making you feel weaker?” he asked, grinning and winking at her.

Well, he got another slap, this time on the other cheek. He could only add it to his collection. 

“Smart girl.” He massaged the slapped cheek with a quiet hiss. “I am Gavin of Maribor. Like you probably guessed; a witcher.”

“Didn’t realise it at the first sight. It’s quite dark.”

“So what? You are going to run away now?”

“I was about to do so before you showed up, playboy,” she burst out with laughter. “You have nothing to do with it.”

Gavin cracked his fingers and whistled for his horse. The animal came back, so he could easily reach the bundles hanging from the saddle.

“Oh, I hurt the witcher’s little heart. Now he’s sulking.” North couldn't stop laughing. 

“I am not sulking. I just figured that it’s late and I’m not in the mood to play with you.”

He walked to the inn, giving her a small wave goodbye. He could have talked, but he wasn’t a damn philanthropist and wouldn’t give her money to start a new life.

Gavin just tossed himself on the cheap bed of the inn’s room, passing out quickly.

At dawn, he walked outside stretching with a yawn. He needed to find his employer. 

“Sleeping beauty is here!” he heard called out and spotted North sitting on a horse which kept kicking and nickering.

“Did you just steal a horse?”

“Maybe?”

“And you just wandered near the town? Go away!”

“But-”

“Girl, I’ll get the money for the wraith and we’ll meet each other at the mill. Quickly!” Gavin snarled and waved at her. 

When she heard that, she immediately left. Gavin smiled. He had several girls that he stood up already, but North… she seemed different.

In an hour, he was there. The horse was eating grass and North was sat with her feet in the river. A small sack hung from her belt.

When she heard him coming, she just slowly turned her head.

“Why did you tell me to run? Who would catch me so early?” she asked quietly. 

“I like when people actually listen to me, so I didn’t care about that. I think you were ready to leave with me, right?” When she shot him a glare, he laughed. “Hold your horses, girl. I didn’t say that I won’t take you.”

“You are so useless.” 

“Just as you are for me now, but I don’t complain,” Gavin grinned and reached a hand in her direction. 

Well, they left Lyria together and people from the closest villages thought they were just an old married couple, fighting over everything.


	7. Photographs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I eventually ended this. Sorry for lateness.

"Oh no! We're too late! I thought-" North shrieked when she suddenly got picked up - "that... Oh my, it's perfect now!"

She started taking photos of the sunset as Gavin held her up. 

It took her a while, so when he placed her back on the ground, he had to take a few deep breaths. 

North came closer and stood on her toes to kiss him. Gavin leaned a bit to help her with that. 

"You're such a stubborn, you know?" 

"I know that for 36 years, dear, but thanks." A smug grin appeared on his scarred face. "Let's go home."

Since a few months, North found herself a new hobby. Photography. It was a good feeling to hold a camera instead of a weapon when walking around the city. It took much time for her to actually feel safe. 

Luckily, Gavin was with her most of the times, so she didn't have to worry about that. He gave her an old but trusty Polaroid camera for their anniversary, and since that day she took it with her everywhere. 

Obviously, the film for that camera had been quite expensive already in Gavin's childhood, let alone 2040s, but he never said that it's a problem, so North would seize their days and put them in frames. 

Kelsie also was really enjoying that way to spend free time. She loved making sweet faces and dressing up for homey photo sessions. 

"How many sunsets do you need to be photographed?" Gavin asked a bit later when they were back in the car. 

"Carl told me that the sunlight is the most precious gold on Earth," she answered, placing the photos in her notebook. 

"Course it is." He rolled his eyes. 

"But it's the truth!" 

They argued about it for a bit more and ended their fuss a few minutes later. 

North looked at the wall in their bedroom. It was already covered by photographs of everything and everyone she would think of. 

"Mommy! Mommy!" 

It still seemed new to her, every time Kelsie called her that, North felt like a bunch of softest pigeons were rising her above the ground. 

She obviously crouched and waited for the girl to run in her arms. Kelsie was growing bigger and stronger, but it didn't mean she lost her sweetness. 

"What's up, cutie? Tell me, what were you doing today?" 

They sat down on the rug and started talking. 

If people heard that Kelsie got much after Gavin, they would think that was simply mean and grumpy. She was like a blooming flower, but with a snarky and playful attitude. Her mouth was never shut. 

"And uncle Josh told us where to look for more constellations on the sky. I wanna find them!" 

While North was promising that they would go stargazing soon, Gavin was making dinner. 

He kept reaching to the fridge, where one of the photographs were hanging. Cheap magnets couldn't hold it in one place properly. 

This one was made by someone else than North. Their first vacation somewhere far away. Kelsie was gripping a large Toothless plush, while Gavin and North stood at her sides, eating ice cream. 

Reed never liked being on photos, but his heart melted when North asked him to pose. Since the first time, he couldn't find his old assertiveness or even any will to say no.

Many of these were scattered in their flat, hanged on the walls or loosely placed in photo albums. But not all of them.

Some were obviously hidden in places where Kelsie wouldn't find them. Not that North and Gavin made some cheesy nudes session every now and then, but yeah, they had a few photos like that. The rest of them was just intimate. 

There were times when Gavin wondered if North is afraid of her longevity. He couldn't dare to ask, but sometimes he just left everything to hang out with his beloved wife more. 

"I just like the way my hand fits in yours. Is it stupid?"

"Not at all," he whispered softly and placed a chaste kiss on her cheek. "It's our personal magic. Just between us. Our spark of love."

She loved when he compared their touch to the one that two deviants might share. Not exactly the same, but not too different.

At one time or another, North looked back. She once had felt safe holding Markus' hand, but it didn't make her stay with him forever. She didn't regret her decisions and the way her life went. 

"It was meant to be," she whispered to herself and glanced at Gavin, who was sleeping next to her.


End file.
